COPY OF PARISH
MAGAZINE ARTICLE FOLLOWS (St Luke Eccleshill "The Link"
April 2002 page 1)
Go
for the other christening instead: the "Thanksgiving"
"I
definitely want Brooklyn to be christened, but I don't know into what
religion yet" - David Beckham (Quoted in The Mirror)
And
this tiny human was entirely dependent on us. We had to look
after her and take care of her, and of course we wanted to do the best
by her. I felt very inadequate, and I knew I needed some extra
help from God. So I wanted to ask God's blessing for her
as she grew up.
And
I think many parents want that. But you might find your local
church tells you about 'baptism' if you mention christening. My
advice is: Go for the other christening option. It's
called 'Thanksgiving for the Gift of a Child'.
There
are two christening services, you see. Here's the difference:
The
Thanksgiving is what Jesus did when the people
brought their little children to him: he took the children in his
arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. The service
says: (i) thank you God for this child, and (ii) please help ('bless')
him/her as s/he grows up.
The
Baptism ... well, for a start, some churches don't
have infant baptisms at all because it is not known if
babies were baptized in bible times. If your son is baptized you
parents have to say (i) we are committed followers of Jesus ourselves,
(ii) we will bring up our child as a Christian to come to church with
us regularly, and teach him about Jesus, and pray with him, and so
on..., and (iii) he will be an active disciple of Jesus when
he is an adult. Obviously that's quite a promise! You have
to be certain enough about which church is the one you're going to
take Brooklyn to week by week.
David,
you're an honest bloke - honest enough to say that you aren't dead
sure for yourself which religion is right. I hope you'll
discover a living faith in Jesus for yourself. But don't make a promise for Brooklyn that you don't mean. That would be a
terrible start to his life!
John
Hartley